S.T.E.M. requires imagination and creative thought. The Arts afford easy access to creativity. That place where fragile ideas are born and cultivated, where we form connections between disparate ideas. Creating a safe harbor where chances and innovation reside is a crucial step in any Design Engineering process. Most every venture into Tinkering starts with a brainstorming session. The big think, the “what if?” Here is a place where judgement and critical thought is suspended. Where ideas are built upon and trajectories are set. S.T.E.M. education cannot exist without the “what if”. The moment a prototype fails and the tester says, “what if” starts the path towards innovation. Mistake are merely opportunities in the Creative process. The needed space to let the mind wander. To reflect. To dig deep into the metaphorical navel and come up with… fluff. Creativity needs a seat at the table and the Arts are a throne. American’s are a resourceful lot. We have always led in innovation and ingenuity. Our ability to take risks seems like a given but it is not. It must be grown. Our ability to create more from a simple garage start-up is legend. But it is not a given. Art often comes from a place of need and necessity. The Arts put the “A” into S.T.E.A.M. It is the glue that binds all S.T.E.M. education. Art and Design is to S.T.E.M. as eating is to living. Design adds an organizing principal. Through a rigorous Design process we wrest the information at hand into an edible meal. Recognizing superior Design aesthetics is a function of the higher brain. Making connections between disparate things allows us to say, “what if” and act. We all need to be vocal about supporting the Arts. Some may feel it is a frivolous pursuit and doesn’t affect them, whereas we know it to be essential. This is why reDiscover has its feet planted firmly in the Arts. Because at reDiscover we put the “A” in S.T.E.A.M. Think. Make. Tinker. 
